Ardor
by Sandpiper
Summary: AU/AH: ER doctor Carlisle Cullen and college student Bella Swan make an unlikely pair who just might be perfect for one another...but their unconventional inclinations and the demons in their pasts might get in the way. *formerly "Untitled BC story"*
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I really only wrote this down as a distraction to keep my sanity. I may continue if people like it (and RL works out to make it possible). I'm open to constructive criticism and suggestions for the title. I'm NOT open to playing Twilight-fandom drama, so flames regarding the pairing will be deleted.

A/N2: Chapter one revised. I added a little bit extra to create a better breaking point for the next chapter. I'll try to get another chapter posted soon.

Her hands had been shaking when she handed him the tray of sutures. He noticed, but, after nearly a decade in the ER, triage was second nature to him, so his bleeding patient took precedence.

The thud a few seconds later didn't surprise him, though. What did was finally recognizing her the moment he looked back and saw her crumpled on the floor.

"Ooh, that one looked like it hurt," his patient's comment brought his attention back.

"It happens pretty often with new people," he said turning his lips up slightly as he instantly went back into doctor mode.

"Yeah," she answered glancing down at her wound looking slightly green, "I may join her."

"No, you won't!" he said, giving her a stern look, "You're fine."

With that he put his mind to finishing stitching up the gash across her hand the patient had accidentally given herself with her kitchen knife. After covering the stitches with gauze, he set the instruments aside and tossed his gloves in the biohazard container.

"Okay, you're all done. You're going to want to watch for any signs of infection such as redness, swelling, or oozing. I'll also write you a prescription for some painkillers, and have a nurse bring it in soon along with your discharge forms."

"Thank you, Dr. Cullen," she nodded with both gratitude and weariness in her voice.

"You take care of yourself, Mrs. Lewis," he said giving her a flirtatious smile, which, he was pleased to see, she instantly relaxed at.

He had to give up some dignity though in dealing with the unconscious girl at his feet. Luckily, he managed to both hoist her up into a bridal carry, and hold down the groan of exertion that tried to escape his mouth.

He backed them both out the door, and found that luck was on his side and the head nurse was passing by.

"Joan, could I get a gurney here?" he asked.

"Another one bites the dust, huh?" she smirked before barking the order to another employee, "She hit her head?"

"I don't think so,"Carlisle answered as he moved her over to the stretcher, "but check her just in case. Also, if you could have someone handle the discharge on Mrs. Lewis that would be great."

"You got it," she nodded, moving to wheel the stretcher away.

"And once she's awake, send her to my office," he said nodding to the stretcher. The nurse raised her eyebrows at the order, but didn't question him.

He left the two women, making notes on his patient's chart as he made his way through the halls to his office. Once inside he dropped the file onto his desk, and sat back contemplating what had just happened. It might mean nothing. After all this was a small town, it was inevitable to run into almost everyone else at one time or another. However, he couldn't shake the feeling that Isabella Swan's showing up at the hospital for a second time was not a coincidence.

_FLAHSHBACK_

_It was just after noon, and things had reached a lull. He'd just finished up the necessary paperwork for that day, and went down to the ER._

"_Afternoon, Dr. Cullen," the shift nurse greeted when he arrived._

"_Good afternoon, what have you got for me today?"_

"_20 year old female in room 2. Fell down the stairs at her house. Has what looks like a sprained knee," she answered._

"_Thanks," he took the chart and went directly to the exam room. Inside were two young women._

"_Hello, I'm Doctor Cullen," he introduced himself, offering his hand to the one sitting on the exam table, "Ms. Swan?"_

"_Yeah, um...Bella," she nodded accepting the handshake._

"_And you are?" he asked turning to the pixie-like girl standing next to her._

"_Oh! I'm Alice Brandon," she answered shaking his hand as well, "We live together."_

"_I see," he nodded, "Are you family?"_

_The two glanced at each other uncertainly._

"_Not officially," Bella finally answered._

_He wondered what that meant, and asked the next question very carefully, "I ask because hospital policy states that you can only be released to a family member, so is there any one you'd like to call..."_

"_Um, my dad...he's the chief of police."_

"_Charlie?" he asked in surprise._

"_Yeah," she nodded._

"_Well I'm sure he'd like to know that you're here, so if you want I could have a nurse call or perhaps..." he said looking toward Alice._

"_No need. I can call him on my cellphone," she took the hint, digging through her purse as she walked out of the exam room._

"_So you fell down your stairs?" he asked as he checked the dilation of her eyes, "How did that happen?"_

_She shrugged, "I'm clumsy sometimes."_

"_Have you had any dizziness, loss of consciousness, or blurry vision since you fell?" he asked, bringing out the stethoscope to listen to her heart._

"_No," she shook her head._

"_What about any nausea?"_

"_No."_

_He looped the stethoscope around his neck, and put his hand up to support her back, "Okay just lay down here. Have you had pain anywhere?"_

"_Just my knee," she answered._

"_Lets take a look," he moved around to manipulate her knee. She winced a few times at various points, and grabbed the edge of the table._

"_Okay, well I don't feel any fractures. It does look like it's just sprained, but knee injuries can be complicated so I'm going to call a consult from orthopedics," he explained as he took out his blackberry to send a text message to the on call orthopedic surgeon, "I'd also like to check you over just to make sure you don't have any internal injuries."_

"_Okay," she answered with obvious apprehension._

"_Don't worry, it won't take long," he smiled at her as he started to gently palpate her abdomen, but it didn't seem to put her at ease the way it usually did for his patients "So Charlie Swan is your father?"_

"_Oh um...yeah," she answered._

"_I've known him for several years. Sometimes doctors from here are called to help with case, but I didn't know he had a daughter."_

_He tried talking to her to help relax her, but it only seemed to make her more uncomfortable. _

"_Well I grew up with my mom in Phoenix and um...then moved back to Washington for college, so I, I only live in here during the summers," she stammered. _

"_Are you alright?" He finally asked, wondering if her unease had to do with the exchange between her and the girl she came in with. _

"_Yes!" she answered too quickly, "I mean, um, I'm fine. I just..."_

_She trailed off as she met his eyes. Suddenly, in seeing her looking up at him his suspicions about her and her companion were forgotten. So was his professionalism, apparently, as he eased the pressure he was putting into his hands, and his touches on her stomach became caresses. He saw and felt her intake of breath briefly before the door banged open loudly startling him. _

"_I'm sorry to intrude," the orthopedist apologized, "You called for a consult?"_

"_Yes," he answered, immediately putting distance in between himself and the exam table._

"_You look like you're alright, Ms. Swan, so I'll just let Dr. Roberts take over here and look at your knee," He explained, quickly turning to leave the room. _

_Once outside he tried to recover his composure after what had just happened. He was surprised at himself. He was cavalier in his personal life by nature, it was a well known fact that only remained untalked about because he was well respected in the town, but he'd never been inappropriate with a patient before. It was something he prided himself in._

_END FLASHBACK_

That day stuck with him in more ways that one. Which was why he was surprised he hadn't noticed sooner that she was working at the hospital.

He didn't have much time to think it over, though, as his office door opened and the girl in question timidly stepped inside.

"You wanted to see me, Dr. Cullen?" she asked tiredly.

"Yes, please sit down," he gestured to the chairs in front of his desk, "Are you feeling better, Bella?"

Her eyes widened in surprise when he said her name. Evidently, she hadn't expected him to remember. Well, no need to tell her that he only had for the past half-hour.

"Um, yes, I'm alright,"she blushed, "Just really embarrassed. I can't believe I fainted, I'm so sorry."

"Is there something that's upsetting you today?" He asked, "Perhaps some kind of stress at home?"

"No, no," she shook her head quickly, "Nothing like that I've just always had a problem with blood."

"You have?"

"Yeah, the smell...it really gets to me."

"Hm," he mused, "Well that makes me rather curious about why you decided you wanted to work in a hospital."

Her reaction was the epitome of 'deer in the headlights'.

"Um..." she began, but then trailed off.

He rose and walked around his desk to take the chair next to hers. As he moved around she chewed her lip in an unintentionally alluring way as she picked nervously at the edge of her striped smock. He quickly reached out and clamped his hand over hers to still her fidgeting.

"Is there a specific reason you chose to work here?"

Her mouth dropped open slightly releasing the grip she had on her lip, but she didn't say anything. How had he overlooked that she'd been working right next to him? Being this close to her, able to smell her skin, that kind of oversight seemed incomprehensible. However, she was so jumpy it was hard to be certain, and if he was wrong...

He moved his other hand to her knee. She didn't flinch away, and her eyes stayed on his. He let her watch as he moved his gaze to her lips, and relaxed when hers followed suit and moved to his. Good, he didn't need a sexual harassment complaint.

"So what are we going to do about this?" he whispered across her lips, letting his voice go husky.

Her eyes lidded, and just as they slid closed he released her hand and pushed himself up.

"I think we both know how we need to handle this situation," he said as he walked back behind his desk.

Bella blinked a few times in confusion. "How?"she finally asked.

"Well, Bella, I think it would be best if we ended your employment here," Carlisle answered.

She opened her mouth as if to protest, but after a moment closed it and nodded resignedly, "I understand."

"I'm glad, I hoped you would," he answered. She signed, her shoulders sagging. He had to hold down a laugh, "Also hoped that you'd let me take you to dinner tonight in Port Angeles."

Her gaze snapped back up, the surprised expression back.

"To commemorate your brief career in medicine," he clarified, giving her a teasing smile.

"Um...yes, sure," she finally answered.

"Well I don't really see that you need to stay the rest of the day, so why don't you go ahead and go home and get some rest, and I'll call your later? Say around 6:30?"

"Yes," she repeated as she stood and walked to the door, "I mean...6:30 is good."

"Excellent, I'll see you then," he answered.

"See you later," she nodded as she eased herself out letting the door drift shut behind her.


	2. Chapter 2

Bella leaned her back against Dr. Cullen's door as it shut. She felt strangely numb, and wasn't sure whether to call today lucky or a disaster. She got fired and a date.

At that thought she shoved herself off the door and made a beeline through the halls until she reached the women's locker-room. She grabbed her purse, and headed straight out through the ER entrance. As she passed the nurse's station she made sure to avoid eye contact with the head nurse. That woman was scary, and it had been completely humiliating waking up to her.

In the parking lot she jogged over to her truck, and climbed inside.

She rested her hands on the steering wheel and took a deep breath.

Dr. Cullen asked her out!

Just when she was certain she was the biggest idiot in the world...but he remembered her, and that moment in his office. Did that mean he felt something that first day when he treated her too?

It was the first week after finals. She and Alice had only been in Forks for two days when she fell down the stairs.

Everything started off normal. This wasn't the first time she'd ended up in the hospital with some injury, but when they were alone and he started touching her she seemed to lose her ability to think. He kept talking to her causing her to stammer as she had to keep forcing herself focus and answer like a sane person.

Then in that last moment just before the other doctor came in things changed, and there was a fleeting moment of electricity.

Things should have been over then, but her mind apparently had other plans because she literally couldn't stop thinking about him. She didn't even know why. It was crazy. She was a college student, and he...was a grown man. He had a home, a real job, for all she knew he could have a wife and kids!

Those thoughts didn't chase him out of her mind, but she didn't say anything about it until a couple day after her accident when she and Alice were having lunch with some of the people they worked with last summer at the cafe. Alice was telling them about the ER visit, and then laughed saying she thought the doctor suspected they were a couple.

She was completely surprised to hear that, but Alice just laughed explained that what they said about being unofficially family probably sounded strange to someone who didn't know their situation. That hadn't occurred to Bella before, but made complete sense. Before she could think better of it the words, "I can't believe Dr. Cullen thought we were a couple" came from her mouth.

All three of her friends asked "You saw Dr. Cullen?!" after she said that, and then gaped open mouthed when she confirmed it. When she asked why that was a big deal they responded only by giggling, before Jessica finally cryptically said "I doubt if he minded the thought that you and Alice were together."

That was enough to peak Alice's interest too, so they managed to get them to give up more information. Apparently Dr. Cullen was notorious in Forks.

Her mind replayed as Lauren enthusiastically delivered what, for Bella, was a bombshell...

_FLASHBACK_

"_My sister says that he like works his way through female employees at the hospital-"_

"_Wait! Your sister?" Angela interrupted, "Didn't she work at the hospital last year before going to nursing school?"_

"_Yeah," Lauren nodded._

"_Well does that mean that she..."_

_Lauren's grin was enough of an answer._

"_Oh my God!" Jessica shrieked, "You never told me that!"_

"_Uh huh, and she said that he is like...wow!" Lauren continued , "This summer I'll go by the hospital see if I want to be a nurse too."_

_Alice, Anglea, and Jessica giggled loudly, luckily too caught up in the gossip to notice that Bella was having trouble breathing._

_END FLASHBACK_

That conversation completely changed things. Not only was he available, he was, apparently, interested.

Okay, so going to work at the hospital to get closer had been a stupid idea, and it hadn't even worked. Well okay it had, but only accidentally. This had been her fifth day working there, and she didn't even see him everyday. On the days she did, she'd been almost certain he hadn't noticed her. Apparently she was just too out of practice.

Out of practice, but she'd agreed to go out with him tonight! Oh God!

With shaking hands she shoved the keys into the ignition, and started up the truck.

She'd never been so glad that Forks was so small because it only took her a few seconds to arrive at the cafe. She parked her car and rushed inside.

Her eyes scanned the room before finding standing at a table chatting with one of her customers. Once she turned away Bella was instantly at her side.

"Bella!" she exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you. Do you have a minute?"

"Yeah sure."

"Come on," Bella lead her over to the women's bathroom and shut the door behind them.

"What's going on?" Alice asked.

"I need a favor."

"Okay...what?"

Bella bit her lip hesitating before blurting out, "IneedyouhelpmelookreallyhottonightbecauseIhaveadate."

Alice blinked, "I'm sorry...I just hallucinated. I could have sworn you just said you want me to give you a make over to look really hot because you have a date tonight."

She sighed, "That **is** what I said!"

"You're serious?"

"Yes, I'm serious."

"You have a date?" Alice shrieked.

"Not so loud," she hissed, "And, yes, that's what I've been telling you."

"Oh my God! You have a date?!"

"Alice-"

"That's amazing!" she continued to yell, grabbing Bella into a surprisingly bone crushing hug for someone her size.

"Alice, please!" Bella begged, certain that everyone outside could hear Alice through the door.

"Well, yes, yes! Definitely I'll help!"

"Thanks, but please don't spread this around!"

"Alright, I won't" Alice held up her hands, "Look, I have to get back to work, but I'll meet you at home right after my shift."

"Okay, see you then."

Bella took a moment before stepping out of the bathroom, relieved to find that no one was staring her way as if they'd just heard everything that was said.

She got back into her truck and drove home. Her father was still at work as well so the house was empty.

Upstairs she set her things down, and headed right to the shower. It felt good to clean the feeling of hospital grime off her skin, and let the warm water relax a little. After getting her hair thoroughly dried, she put on a pair of sweat pants and a loose t-shirt before heading back to her room. She flopped down on her bed and tried to relax.

Normally she would have picked up one of her books to pass the time, but she didn't think she could get into reading right now.

When the door opened downstairs she nearly jumped out of her skin. The swift footsteps on the stairs told her it was Alice, though. Sure enough, a couple seconds later her spikey head poked through the doorway.

"Hey!" she grinned.

"Hey," Bella said back standing up.

"You ready to do this?" Alice asked.

"Yep," she nodded, walking across the hallway to what was now Alice's room.

Alice had been her assigned roommate when she first arrived at the University of Washington. They couldn't have been more different if they tried. Alice was a total girly-girl, and had seemingly limitless energy. She had known that Alice was a dance major, but didn't quite realize what exactly she was dealing with in Alice until one Saturday when, after dragging her around shopping all morning, she convinced Bella to come with her to the gym. When they got back to their room Bella barely had enough strength left to collapse onto the futon, but proceeded Alice immediately protest that she had to get up and take a shower so they'd be ready to go out clubbing that night.

In spite of their differences, though, they got a long well and became close during the fall quarter. Then just before winter break Alice's parents were killed in a car crash. Charlie had actually been there picking her up to go home when Alice received the call.

Alice was devastated, and and her parents lived all the way across the country in Philadelphia. She and Charlie ended up taking Alice back to Forks with them that night. Even though, she was 18 and legally an adult she had no idea what do. Her only other family was an aunt who had only made more trouble, so eventually Bella begged Charlie to let her go with Alice to Philadelphia so she didn't have to go through everything alone. They both went and helped Alice with planning the funeral and dealing with her parents house, their bank accounts, things like that. Bella was glad her father came too because she didn't know any more than Alice about what to do.

After that Bella and Charlie both basically adopted Alice. Over spring break, Alice went along when Bella went to Jacksonville to visit her mother and Phil. Then during the spring quarter Bella and Charlie agreed to ask Alice to move in with them at the end of the term. Charlie cleared out his junk room, and brought in a new bed and his grandmother's old wardrobe from the attic. Of course, Alice had enough clothes to fill five wardrobes, so Bella moved into the new room and Alice into her old one.

The room which Alice followed her into happily chatting.

"Guess what? Someone called in a special order for a birthday party. They wanted chocolate cupcakes with white frosting, but we accidentally made white with chocolate frosting instead so we all got to bring a few home," she said holding open the pink box in her hand.

"No thanks," Bella shook her head.

"Fine, more for me," Alice shrugged. That was the one flaw in Alice's super athletic image. She was a junkfood junkie, which was unfortunate in itself because the last thing someone as hyper as her needed was sugar.

She flopped down on her bed as she dug into one of the cupcakes, "Okay, now spill! What's the story with this date?"


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I'm rather unsatisfied with this chapter. This one and the next might seem out of character, but as the story progresses the characters will become more themselves.

"Well we're going to dinner in Port Angeles," Bella answered, "Probably leave around 6:30-"

"6:30?! That's only an hour!" Alice shrieked, leaping up and tossing the cupcake wrapper in the trash. After licking a spot of frosting off her fingers, she grabbed Bella's shoulders and pushed her down into her desk chair, "Tell me you already showered."

"I did," Bella nodded as Alice opened the drawer and dug out her make up case.

"Did you wash your hair?"

"No, I didn't use any shampoo."

Alice grinned, "I've taught you so well."

Bella rolled her eyes.

"Lets see...there isn't enough time to paint your nails, we'll just have to buff them," Alice muttered to herself digging out what looked like a small foam brick, "And I don't suppose you'll let me straighten your hair?"

"It's fine. Do whatever, Alice," she answered.

Alice looked surprised for a moment, but wordlessly took out her flat iron and plugged it into the wall socket.

"Okay while that's heating up put this on and use some of this, not too much," she said handing Bella a fabric headband and a bottle of moisturizer.

"Now you said you're going to Port Angeles for dinner right? So it'll probably be somewhere at least semi-casual," Alice mused as she bounced over to the over stuffed closet, "How exactly do you want to look tonight?"

"Well I don't want to look too young," Bella answered.

"Okay, not too young. What else?"

"And um....good?"

"You want to be a little more specific?"

Bella gave a helpless shrug.

Alice rolled her eyes and sighed heavily, "Do you want to go for 'that outfit looks gorgeous' or 'that outfit would look gorgeous on my bedroom floor'?"

She bit her lip and muttered, "The second one."

"What?"

"I said the second one!"

Alice gaped, "Okay, who are you and what have you done with my friend?"

"Alice!"

"Well, come on, Bella! I've known you for two years. In that time I've barely seen you flirt with a guy, and, out of the blue, you have a date tonight and you're basically telling me you're planning to sleep with him?"

"I've told you before! I had a bad break up in high school and just haven't felt like dating, but...well things changed-Oh no!" Bella gasped, "Ugh, this might not even be an issue. I just remembered....Charlie."

Alice laughed, "Oh, you forgot that detail, did you, Daddy's Girl?"

"Oh please, Alice, you had my dad wrapped around your little finger a week after he met you!" Bella grumbled, less annoyed about Alice's influence over Charlie and more about the date going wrong before it even started.

Alice came to stand in front of her, "Look, I might have an idea, but are you actually serious about this?"

That was a good question. Did she actually plan to do this? Yes, from what she'd heard, he'd be willing, but this wasn't the same as with Mike. He was an older man. Plus, Forks was a lot smaller than Phoenix, everyone knew everyone else. Gossip could get around really fast. Not to mention it had been a long time...

Bella sighed. It had been a long time indeed. She conjured up the memory of feeling someone's hands moving over her skin, and feeling a body against hers. And the thought of doing those things with Dr. Cullen....

"What's your idea?" she asked.

"Okay, well Angela, Jessica, and I were talking about going to Port Angeles tonight also to see movie," Alice answered, "And Charlie is working the late shift, so he'll be tired when he gets in and probably already have gone to sleep by the time I get home. So, when I see him in the morning, as far as he has to know, you were with me all night and left before he woke up because you had to be at the hospital early."

Bella sighed, "That won't work."

"Why not?"

"I got fired from the hospital."

"You got fired? When?"

"Earlier today."

"Today? You fired AND got a date all in the same day?" Alice asked then narrowed her eyes suspiciously, "Does this have anything to do with that doctor you've been stalking?"

"I have not been stalking him!" she protested.

"Oh really? What do you call it then?"

".....being inquiring?" Bella offered weakly.

Alice looked skeptical.

"Okay, okay. His name is Carlisle Cullen, he's head of the ER-"

"And a total hound according to Lauren," she interrupted.

"Yeah, that's kind of what inspired me to actually try," Bella answered.

"What?"

"Well, come on. He's an older man. If he was normal what would he want with someone like me?"

"I worry he's just using you either way."

"It's not using me if I know it's happening!"

Alice looked troubled, and Bella was worried she'd revealed too much.

"Well, if you're sure," Alice said and thought for a moment, "Okay, you got fired, so you left early because there was some final paperwork they needed you to do."

Bella thought it over, "Yeah, okay. That could work."

"Right," Alice gave a single nod solidifying the decision, "Okay then, now to find you something slutty to wear..."


	4. Chapter 4

Carlisle pulled his car back into his parking space, and turned off the engine to wait for Bella.

After a discussion over the phone while he was at home changing out of his work clothes, they'd agreed to meet up at the hospital.

He could tell by the tone of her voice she hadn't thought of the idea before, but, as he'd expected, jumped at it when he made the suggestion. No surprise she didn't want her father finding out she was going out with him.

She arrived after about ten minutes. He noticed her when he saw a woman climbing out of an antique pickup truck that clashed with her stylish outfit.

He stepped out of his car, "Bella!"

She startled at the sound of his voice, but turned to him with a smile.

"Dr. Cullen," she greeted as she came up to him.

"I think under the circumstances, Bella, that you should call me Carlisle," he teased as he moved around to open the passenger's side door for her.

"Well, Carlisle, you have a very nice car," she responded with a glint in her eye as she slid inside.

He moved around to his side got in, and, before starting the engine, he took a second to take in her appearance. Her black skirt hugged her body in all the right places, and her make up made her eyes look sultry. She looked different...though sexy as hell, so he wasn't complaining.

Carlisle turned the key to start the ignition, and a few minutes later they were quietly riding up Hwy 101.

As nervous as she was in his office, he'd expected she'd want to fill the silence with conversation, but, instead, she watched the sunset out the window. Carlisle himself found the drive very relaxing as he focused on the road with the occasional glance over to take in Bella's profile in the fading light. As a matter of fact, Carlisle was surprised just comfortable he became as they went along.

He'd done this many times before, been pursued by younger women and taken them up on their offers. This time, though, he found himself forgetting that's what he was doing...it was disconcerting.

The atmosphere seemed to change as they passed a marker saying they were 10 miles outside Port Angeles.

"So where were we going, again?" Bella broke the silence.

He hadn't said where they were going, but he knew that she knew it, so he didn't point the fact out.

"Well, I'm not sure what you like, but I had a place in mind called The Bloated Toad. It's a little log cabin style bistro, mostly Italian food."

She looked briefly taken back, and he wondered if she was disappointed it wasn't somewhere fancier. Though, fancier wasn't going to happen in Port Angeles. The town was just slightly bigger than Forks. Of course, she'd mentioned she hadn't grown up there so maybe she didn't know that.

He was just going over in his mind out how much longer it would take to drive into Seattle, and which places he might knew where he might be able to get a last minute reservation when she answered "That sounds great, I love that place. It's um, it's actually my favorite."

"I guess great minds think alike," he answered with a smile which she returned.

At the restaurant they were seated in a corner booth. The building looked rustic, but the cozy atmosphere inside made the place a good place to take a date.

"So, Bella. Why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself?" Carlisle said taking a sip of his iced tea. When ordering drinks he made sure to avoid brining up any reminders that Bella was under 21, and he, notably, was not.

"What do you want to know?" she asked with a shy shrug that was cute, but didn't match her provocative outfit.

"Well..." he drew out flirtatiously, "...so far I know that you're Charlie Swan's daughter, you're from Phoenix, you moved back here recently, and you're a student. So how about that? Where do you go to school?"

"UW," she answered.

"Ah, good school. What are you studying?" he asked, "Normally I might guess pre-med, but given our last conversation..."

"Ugh, please don't remind me," she laughed, "And, no, I'm not pre-med. I'm an English major.

I know, that probably sounds kind of flakey, or whatever, but-"

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, I don't know, I mean I don't really have any good reason to pick that as my major. I don't plan to be a journalist or an English teacher or anything like that. I just like reading and learning about literature," she answered.

"That sounds like a plenty good reason to me. At least I hope it is, because it's why I chose English as my major when I was in college."

"You did?" she asked, "But...you became a doctor."

"Yes, I knew I wanted to go to medical school, so I made sure to take all the necessary classes to do so, but my degree is actually in English."

"Wow, so was it hard for you when you went to medical school?" she asked.

"Not really. We'd all taken the same basic courses, and I didn't really see any noticeable difference in success rate in medical school between students who had degrees in a science and those who didn't-" he cut himself off as he realized he was starting to ramble, "Bella, this was a long time ago, you don't want to hear about this."

"Yeah I do, I mean-" she was cut off by the waitress arriving with their order. The conversation ceased as their plates were set down in front of them, so they both quietly began to eat.

"So...where did you go to school?" Bella finally asked, breaking the tension.

"Harvard," he answered.

"Wow um...that's a really good school," she commented, but followed it with a slightly nervous laugh.

"As I said, it was a long time ago," Carlisle sighed. Things were not going like they should be. Telling her that felt uncomfortable, and it seemed she'd noticed too. Though, why should he feel uncomfortable talking about his accomplishments? Normally, he wouldn't hesitate to tell the women he was with facts like that, because he knew they'd love hearing them.

"Are you from the east coast?" she valiantly kept the conversation going through his internal waffling.

"No," he answered, resolving to get it together, "I grew up in Seattle. My family's been living there for a while."

"How'd you end up in Forks?" she laughed.

He stopped his fork in the middle of the plate. She didn't know it, but they'd stumbled into another conversational mine field after just getting of the last one.

He didn't do a good job of hiding his hesitation either, since she scrambled to explain, "It just that it's usually the other way around. People who grow up in Forks want to some day move to Seattle, but there aren't many that grow up in Seattle but...move to Forks."

"No there aren't," he chuckled, "After medical school, I did my residency at a hospital in Seattle. I'd never been to Forks before, but at the end of my final year, I drove through on my way back from a weekend trip to the coast."

He paused before continuing to the next part, "My wife grew up in a small town. She liked the lifestyle. So when we stopped in Forks she fell in love with the town, and we ended up settling there."

"Oh," she answered, "So...where is she now?"

"She passed away a few years ago," he answered. So much for getting it together. Perfect way to set the mood right. Talking about the fact that he'd had a wife, and, now, that she died.

"What happened?"

"Cancer," he answered tersely, wishing she'd stop asking questions. After all it wasn't any of her business-

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt a small hand cover his. He looked up and met Bella's eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. He didn't have any response, but found he couldn't bring himself to stay annoyed so he settled for turning his hand around to squeeze hers and hopefully convey enough with the gesture.

It seemed to work as they wordlessly broke apart, and turned their attention back to their plates.

"So how do you like living in Seattle?" Carlisle asked, steering the conversation back onto a safe subject.

She answered, and the rest of the meal went more smoothly as they struck up a conversation about the style of literature she'd most recently been studying.

TBC

A/N: If the characterizations seem confusing and all over the place...good. That's exactly what I'm aiming for. It'll make more sense later.


End file.
